Hoe-Han Goh
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
Title: Omics approach in the study of natural hybridization in Nepenthes species
Biography
Biography: Hoe-Han Goh
Abstract
The Nepenthes genus consists of carnivorous plants that have evolved intricate pitcher formation at the tip of their leaves for nutrient acquisition from insect trapping. Previous studies reported several proteins present in the pitcher fluid, including aspartic proteases (nepenthesin I and II) and pathogenesis related proteins (β-1, 3-glucanase, class IV chitinase and thaumatin like protein) which are enzymatically stable albeit exposed to external environment. We are interested in understanding the effect of natural hybridization on the expression of enzymes in the pitcher fluids of Nepenthes. N. ampullaria, N. rafflesiana and their natural hybrid, Nepenthes x hookeriana were chosen as the model due to the distinct feeding habits of N. ampullaria as a detritivore which feeds on leaf litter, while N. rafflesiana and Nepenthes x hookeriana remain carnivorous. To identify novel proteins in the pitcher fluids will require transcript information for the inference of peptide sequences through proteomics informed by transcriptomics (PIT) approach. PacBio isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq) provides unprecedented full length transcriptome profiles of all three species as reference databases for protein identification. Comparative transcriptomic analysis was performed through orthologous clustering of predicted peptide sequences. The hybrid, Nepenthes x hookeriana has the highest number of predicted proteins, whereby more proteins were shared with N. rafflesiana than N. ampullaria. This is consistent with previous genetic study and morphological observation. We are currently investigating allele specific gene expression and whether novel transcripts are generated as a consequence of hybridization